


Right place, right time

by lysithias



Series: FE3H goes to college [1]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: College AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:15:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25430737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lysithias/pseuds/lysithias
Summary: Claude met Byleth in class. No, not as seat neighbors or any other way people might think
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Claude von Riegan
Series: FE3H goes to college [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1842004
Comments: 2
Kudos: 32





	Right place, right time

**Author's Note:**

> I Tried My Best™

Claude met Byleth in class. _No_ , not as seat neighbors or any other way people might think. He met her the first day of recitation, immediately taking interest in her when she stood in front of the classroom, introducing herself as _Byleth Eisner_. Not only did he know of her dad, but it seemed odd that someone who didn’t attend college was _teaching_ a strategy class. Even during introductions, she didn’t look that interested in her surroundings.

He had taken the class for fun, but stayed for the enigma that was Byleth.

From then onward, Claude always made sure to go to her office hours, even if he didn’t really have questions to ask. At first, Byleth didn’t seem to mind, nor did she seem to catch on to his hidden agenda, and if she did, she didn’t say anything about it. That was, until the first wave of exams arrived and she had students piling up in her office, Claude included. She answered questions left and right, most of them needing in-depth explanations and examples. Except for Claude’s, his questions were always _hypothetical_ , more of a question that could provoke _her_ thoughts and experiences instead of the material that they were being taught in class. She wasn’t sure how she had missed that fact (but then again, students didn’t go to her office hours often).

Byleth first brings the topic up after exams were over for students. In her mind, she didn’t want to distract Claude, though it didn’t seem like he would’ve minded either way. It also gave her time to grade her class’s exams, bringing another question for her to ask the green-eyed male, “Why do you come to my office hours, Claude?” She asks the question so casually, so unbothered, Claude’s a little shocked (he doesn’t show it, though).

He leans back in the chair she offered him earlier, “What can I say, teach?” He uses the nickname that he’d given her one of the first few times he went to her office, “I just need your help. You’re _very_ qualified,” he gives her a smile, and she notes that if she wasn’t so skeptical of him (like how she was before), she wouldn’t have seen how that smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes, that he’s actually there for a different reason.

Byleth hums, tapping her fingers on her desk, “Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. von Riegan,” she grabs his exam from the top of the stack (she had looked at it so many times), “Neither will lying,” she holds up his exam in his face, pointing to his score. An _almost_ perfect score, most errors being on technicalities (she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t a _bit_ harsher on him), “You clearly don’t need to be here if you can get scores like this.”

Claude raises an eyebrow, grabbing the papers out of her hands, looking through them, “And yet you still manage to find errors, teach,” he laughs. He’s not one to bargain for points, and frankly, he figured if he tried, she would just shoot him down (not that he thought he deserved more points), “Plus, don’t you think I’ve done so well _because_ of being here?” He teases.

Byleth shakes her head, “Not at all,” his smile drops slightly, “Some of your answers are tactics that have never been reviewed in class, _and_ ,” she starts, “I overhead students talking about you the other day. You seem to be a student that stands out among the others, master tactician.”

Claude groans at the nickname, “Teach!” he whines, causing a smile to curve on her lips (she seemed to be enjoying this). He hated that nickname, and he knew it was probably Hilda that started it, even though she wasn’t even in the class. That girl knew everyone and with her confident and loud nature, it was bound to spread. He just didn’t expect Byleth to find out about it though, “Alright, fine,” he sighed, leaning forward, “You caught me, I don’t really need help in this class. But,” there’s a twinkle in his eye, “I wanted to get to know you better, _Byleth_.”

He hoped that he could stir some reaction out of her, but his plan seemed to have failed, “That’s it?” She asks him and he nods, “Why didn’t you say so?” She twirls around in her chair, grabbing a sticky note and a pen, scribbling something down and handing it to him before he can say anything, “Here,” she checks the clock, “Now, I do believe my office hours are over. I hope the next time I see you here, it’s for a _real_ problem. Goodbye, Claude,” she’s quick to kick him out of her office, making sure he doesn’t look at what’s on the paper before slamming the door behind him.

When he does _finally_ look, he can’t help the stupid smile that spreads on his face. He just got her number.

* * *

“I can’t believe you know the professor!” Edelgard claims, shocked when Claude and her run into Byleth at a bar. By no means are the pair close, but Claude doesn’t mind Edelgard’s company, and sometimes they need to get some things off their chest. In other words, they often hung out just to complain — Edelgard about classes and her friends sometimes (notably Linhardt) and Claude about anything that he could think of (he tried not to share too much with her). 

“You two know each other?” Byleth questions, a beer in hand. Claude can’t help but notice how weird it is to see her in casual clothing. After that day in her office, he stopped going and resorted to texting her about anything, which led to the two calling often. Even after the semester ended and the new semester started, neither of them made no plans to try to meet up with the other (Claude was nervous, and Byleth… well he wasn’t sure about her). He doesn’t notice when she takes a seat next to Edelgard, but she does, “Small world,” she says, taking a sip of her drink.

“How do you two know each other?” Claude is quick to question (before Edelgard can interrogate them). To his knowledge, Byleth didn’t teach anything else except that strategy class, so how was it that she ended up meeting someone like Edelgard? Edelgard was in business, so it seemed unlikely that she would be in a class about strategy (though, Claude was in tech, and you could say the same about him).

“She took over for Professor Eisner once,” Edelgard starts, taking sips every now and then, “He had been held up because of something, so she came to help us instead,” _ah_ , Claude forgot Jeralt was the coordinator for one of Edelgard’s clubs. He couldn’t recall the name, though (she was in so many, it was hard to keep track). He guessed that made sense, but it seemed like they were on closer terms and he wanted to know about _that_ , “What about you, Claude?” Her voice cuts through his thoughts, and he takes a swig of beer before he speaks.

But Byleth is quicker, “He was one of my students. He was a good student, but he came to my office hours for no real reason,” Byleth laughs (Claude thinks about how he wants to hear it again) and Edelgard looks surprised, ready to ask about _everything_ , “He came to my office so often,” she pauses, glancing at Claude, “I didn’t realize how lonely it would feel once he stopped,” her voice was quieter, almost like she was sharing a secret with Edelgard. But it was still loud enough for both of them to hear, and Claude feels the blood rush to his face.

“What kind of reaction is that?” Edelgard laughs, nudging Claude, who slaps his face to get himself out of that mindset (the _dating_ mindset). Normally, he would make a comment back, no doubt about how if Byleth felt lonely, she could call him any time, but he was scared that instead of it being more flirty, it would come off more romantic (a side of Claude he didn’t want anyone to see), “Professor, Claude, tell me more,” Edelgard encourages.

Byleth shakes her head, “I really need to go now, some colleagues are waiting for me,” she points her head a certain direction.

Edelgard nods understanding, “Alright, have fun! And get home safely,” she and Claude waved to the blue-haired woman as she left. Once Byleth was out of earshot, Edelgard turns towards her partner for the night. He prepares for the worst, for teasing and questions, “ _So_ … Byleth,” she starts, “find out anything interesting about her?”

Claude can’t help but laugh, not what he was expecting, but he should’ve realized Edelgard wouldn’t care about stuff like that. Plus, both of them were curious by nature, it was natural for them to be drawn in by someone like Byleth — someone mysterious to both of them. He supposed now their meetings for complaining would now have some be about Byleth every now and then. The two talk the night away, a new bond forming between them. 

When Claude returns back to his apartment, he greets his roommates on his way to his room. He collapses on his bed, fishing his phone out of his pocket, scrolling through some social media app when he sees a notification from Byleth pop up.

> [Teach ;)] Did you by chance hear what I said earlier?
> 
> [Claude] did you not want me to, teach? ;)
> 
> [Claude] you know if you want, we can make plans to go out sometime
> 
> [Teach ;)] Stop calling me that.
> 
> [Teach ;)] But… Yeah. That sounds like fun. I’d like that, Claude.

He hums to himself, thinking about what he should say in response, “And why do _you_ look so happy?” Hilda barges into his room, and he’s quick to shut off his phone, “Hey! No fair,” she pouts, trying to grab his phone from him. They fight for a second before the pink haired girl finally grabs the phone, unlocking it and reading over the messages (he knew he would regret giving Hilda his passcode), “Why are you so happy about this? She sounds so curt!”

Claude rolls his eyes, snatching his phone back, “She’s like that when she texts,” he defends Byleth. And that really was how she was. She was like that when they first met too, only starting to show her emotions to him little by little through their phone calls and other interactions (once, he tried to get her to use emojis, but it felt too weird).

“Claude’s in love~” Hilda teases, ready to tease him more until her name is called by Leonie (something about leaving her stuff around). She groans, “This isn’t over, von Riegan. Tell me _everything_ about her— even in your sappy, poetic way,” she threatens (though it didn’t sound threatening), stomping out of his room. He can’t help but laugh, even if she was hard to deal with sometimes, he was glad to call Hilda his best friend.

Claude feels his phone vibrate again, and he leans back in his bed, continuing to text Byleth until one of them tires out.

* * *

“I didn’t know you were into stargazing,” Byleth comments, taking a seat on the blanket Claude had placed down on the grass, watching him as he adjusts the telescope he brought.

Claude hums in response, “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, friend,” he tells her, plopping down next to her, head turned upwards towards the sky, “I’m not an astronomy major or anything, though,” he looks at her and gives a smile, “I just love looking at the stars, it calms me down, helps me clear my head,” his attention is fully on the stars.

Byleth nodded, not that Claude could see it, looking up at the sky as well, “Do you use the telescope?” It seemed like a silly question, but with the way things were going, it didn’t seem like he had the intention of using it even though he brought it. She knew most stargazers, some astronomers, would use it to look at stars closer, so she just assumed Claude was the same way.

“Never,” he tells her, turning to look at her. He thinks that she looks good under the glow of the stars. He thinks about how he wouldn’t mind time stopping in that moment, “Just looking at the sky and the stars makes you think about how big the world is,” he turns his head back to the sky, “It makes me think that my dreams are just small feats in a gigantic world of possibilities… It makes me feel like I can make it come true.”

Byleth hums, she had never thought about it like that, but she had never really thought about her own dreams. Most of her life she hadn’t thought about anything more than to stay by her dad’s side. But she wasn’t sure if that had changed or not after she started teaching. Before her job now, she had only known people in passing, never forming meaningful relationships. But now she had more people in her life, and maybe dreams could change.

“What _is_ your dream?”

Claude is caught off guard by the question. He didn’t tell many people what he had told Byleth, but the ones he did (like Nader, or Hilda) had just reassured him. Told him that his dream was possible because… Well because he’s _him_. He was an idealist, but a tactical one. And in his head, he never thought telling someone else about his dream could benefit him. 

But with Byleth it felt different. 

“My dream…” he starts, “My dream is to help others,” a sigh, “I want to help anyone and everyone that I can. From the richest people in the world to the ones who have nothing,” he looks at Byleth, “I’m a pharmacy major, you know? I have a big dream, but when it came down to things, I could only think about how pharmacy might be my best choice.”

“Why not a doctor or something of the like?”

He laughs, “Those majors don’t feel quite right for me,” his gaze on her is fond, “Doctors and vets… I’m not much of a healer. I do have friends who prefer that kind of work, but me? I like mixing things together, I like _making_ the medicine, rather than just giving it to someone. Plus, I don’t need a doctor’s degree to recommend medicine, it’s just up to the person,” he sighs again, “It seems stupid, but I think this is the best path for me.”

Byleth wants to ask more, wants to know more about him. Even more so, she was curious as to why a pharmacist needed a strategy class on his transcript. But she didn’t feel like that was the right thing to say in the moment, “I don’t think it’s stupid,” _don’t put down your dreams_ , “It’s noble. And I know you can do it, Claude.”

Even though he’s heard similar words of encouragement before, Byleth’s words reach his heart. It makes him feel warm, and he feels like he really _can_ make his dream come true. With her, he felt like anything was possible.

“Thank you, my friend.”

* * *

Claude never thought he would find himself in Byleth’s office again. But when he gets a call from her (crying) and a text from Edelgard, he drops everything to get to her office. The two of them had grown closer the past few months, going out often for lunch, drinking together, the park, you name it. They had grown so close that they would call each other at night, talking to each other until the other fell asleep, talking about their dreams, their worries. Claude had felt adoration for her, love, and he had always hoped she felt the same way, but was too scared to say anything because what if he was reading into it too much? 

“Byleth?” He doesn’t knock, opening the door to see his friend hunched over her desk, face buried in her arms. When she looks up at him, he feels his heart ache. Her eyes were red, sleeves wet from all the crying she had been doing. He walks over to her, crouching as her head droops down, he grabs one of her hands, rubbing the back of it in hopes of comforting her, “Edelgard said you needed to be driven to the hospital?” He had been worried it was Byleth who was hurt, but it looked like she was hurt emotionally instead of physically.

Byleth shook her head, wiping away tears with her other hand, “No, I—” Her voice is caught in her throat, and she tightens her grip around his hand. He feels helpless, he wants to take away her pain, kiss away her tears. But he couldn’t, “My dad, he—” She stops again, not able to put it in words without another wave of tears hit her.

Claude didn’t need to hear anything else before standing up and picking her up bridal style. He had heard rumors about how Byleth and Jeralt were the only family each of them had left. He heard how she had lost her mother at an early age, and had been by her father’s side since. He couldn’t imagine the pain she was going through, “I don’t know what it’s like to lose a parent,” he starts, making his way back outside to his car as she clutches onto his shirt, burying her face into his chest, “But I do know that you should see him. I know you don’t want to, but you need to…” He takes a breath, “Be by his side, okay Byleth?”

She nods, and he helps her into the passenger seat. He doesn’t think he’s ever driven that fast in his life, and luckily for him, there were no police to stop him on speeding (though, it wasn’t that much). The whole car ride was silent besides the quiet sound of the radio. Every now and then he would glance over to Byleth and grab her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. She was looking outside the window, her breathing calmer than before, but tears still sprung from her eyes. 

When they arrived at the hospital, she handled herself pretty well, but Claude still did most of the talking. When the nurse insisted on leading him and Byleth to the room, he decided to stay behind, waiting for her (it felt too personal for him to intrude). 

> [Claude] at the hospital, she’s with her dad rn
> 
> [Ice Princess] Thank you for taking her. It’s late and when I heard…
> 
> [Ice Princess] Well, nevermind.
> 
> [Ice Princess] Is she okay?
> 
> [Claude] she cried a lot
> 
> [Claude] it actually surprised me how much emotion she might have but doesn’t show to us or anyone
> 
> [Ice Princess] Now’s not the time to joke, Claude
> 
> [Ice Princess] But I suppose you do have a point
> 
> [Claude] it wasn’t a joke, but okay
> 
> [Claude] we did talk about it that one time… teach doesn’t really show her emotions
> 
> [Claude] at least not well or often

From the corner of his eye, he saw the door to Jeralt’s room open and he put his phone away. He stood up, walking towards that general direction, watching Byleth and Leonie leave the room. Wait, Leonie?

“Claude—”

“Leonie—”

They called each other’s name in unison, looks of confusion. He notices Leonie’s eyes were slightly red like Byleth’s earlier. Before Claude could inquire on anything, his attention was taken away by a sniffling Byleth (at least her tears had subdued), “We’ll talk about this later, Leonie,” he grabs Byleth’s hand, rubbing the back of it like he did earlier, “Are you planning to go home, te— uh, friend?”

Byleth shakes her head, but stays silent. Did she plan to stay at the hospital the whole night? He wants to protest, but Leonie puts a hand on his and Byleth’s shoulders, “By, I know how you feel but…” Leonie glances back at the door behind them (slightly longingly), “You and I will benefit by going home and getting some rest.”

Byleth looks hesitant, but doesn’t do anything to respond. Claude does take notice of her clenching fists (he hoped she wasn’t blaming herself about this), “Come on, Byleth, let me take you home,” he lets go of her hand and wraps his arm around her because he’s sure if he didn’t, she wouldn’t budge (honestly, he was sure she could stand her ground even like this), “Leonie, do you need a ride—”

“I’m fine,” Leonie responds quickly, “Lorenz said he’s almost here, you take By home,” her eyes were on Claude, “Make sure she’s safe, okay? I’ll text you her address,” he gives her a thumbs up, leading Byleth back to his car. 

The car ride back was just as quiet as the ride there. This time, though, Byleth felt more distant. When Claude tried to reach for her hand, she would move it away, shifting her body to face away from him to the best of her ability. He doesn’t try to make any other attempts after that, letting her continue to stare out the window as he drives (it felt like it had been forever since they left the hospital).

When they finally arrive at her apartment (which was quite fancy), he parks in a parking lot close to the place so he doesn’t accidentally get a ticket. He turns to tell her they’ve arrived, but he’s surprised to see her sleeping peacefully. Carefully and quietly, he gets out, walking to her side and getting her out of the seat and onto his back (but not before fishing his keys out of his pocket), trying not to wake her. He holds her legs tightly, using his elbow to close the door, locking his car and walking towards her apartment.

At first, the receptionist is surprised to see a new face but when they see Byleth, they get up to help Claude get to her apartment (thank goddess). The receptionist and Claude walk in silence until they get to Byleth’s apartment and they unlock the door for him, “Thank you,” he whispers, nodding his head slightly. The receptionist gives him a ‘no problem’, letting him know which room would be the bedroom, and leaves to go back to their post.

When he enters the apartment, Claude uses his elbow to turn on the light and close the door behind them. Byleth’s apartment is clean, simple. It didn’t have many decorations, not even pictures decorated the walls or tables. He figured maybe she could afford a decent apartment like this because when it came to other things, she wasn’t so high maintenance (not that she was ever high maintenance). 

He walks up a set of small steps and turns left, seeing the first door to his right (the room the receptionist told him about) slightly ajar and he pushes it open. Even her room was simple. Her desk was clean except for pen holders and books, and her bedding was just plain black, which he supposed that that was fitting for her (after all, she usually wore black in his experience). He gently placed her on her bed, taking a moment to look at her.

She looked peaceful, beautiful. She looked like a goddess. 

The night replays in his head, heart aching at the memory of how _broken_ she looked. In all the time he’s spent with her, he’s never seen her express emotion as much as she did that night. He even asked her once, and she said that she preferred to show her emotions through words (for encouragement and the like) and actions (for anger, love, etc.). He supposed sadness, pain, was different though, especially this kind — the pain of losing someone.

He sighed, tearing his eyes away from her, he probably seemed like the biggest creep just staring at her. But honestly, he wasn’t sure what else to do at that moment. He wanted to stay the night with her, to make sure she was okay by morning, but that was inappropriate without her consent, so he resolved to leaving a letter for when she woke up.

He sat at her desk, grabbing a pen from the pen holder and opening one of the drawers (the top drawer, to be specific) in hopes of finding paper. What he found instead were photos of her, Jeralt, and someone else whom he assumed was her mother. Byleth looked so _happy_.

Quickly, he closed the drawer, trying to wipe the images out of his mind. Those weren’t photos for him to see, they were personal, and hidden for a reason. He tried to find paper even faster than before, and when he finally found it, he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

> _Hey teach,_
> 
> _When we got to your apartment, you were asleep, so I took you back to your room with the help of the receptionist. I hope you’re feeling better, but it’s okay if you’re not. And it’s okay to cry, it’s okay to be vulnerable now and then. If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m all ears. And if you don’t trust me, I’m sure Edelgard will gladly listen, Leonie too._
> 
> _I’ll be waiting for your call._
> 
> _Claude._

He folds the paper in half, putting the pen back where he got it and walking back to where Byleth was, placing the note on the nightstand. His eyes fall to her again, and an overwhelming feeling of wanting to protect her, protect her smile, her everything overcame him. But some battles were harder to fight than others. He sighs, brushing some of her hair out of her face, placing a soft kiss to her forehead, “You can get through this, Byleth.”

When he turns to leave, he feels a hand grab onto his sleeve. His head turns back slowly to see Byleth, eyes slightly open, “Claude,” she croaks out. Her voice was hoarse, probably because she had been crying so much, barely talking. He was filled with worry, about her, about whether or not she was awake when he kissed her (even if it was on the forehead, it was embarrassing to be caught).

“By—”

“Stay,” she says quietly, eyes avoiding Claude before she glances up at him, grip on his sleeve tightening, “please?” 

He breathes a sigh of relief, nodding, “I’ll stay.”

* * *

The next day, Claude goes to his own apartment to get some clothes to stay over at Byleth’s for a longer time. He didn’t expect her to ask him to stay for longer than the previous night, but when she did, he couldn’t possibly say no. No matter how elated he was to spend nights at her’s, he figured that she only asked him because it was a lonely time for her. She had just lost her dad, or was close to losing him (he didn’t quite ask for details), and he was there to comfort her. He was just there in the right place at the right time

He wanted to go there and back with no problems, maybe even grabbing lunch on the way back (something that she liked) to try to lift her spirits. Unfortunately for him, when he left his room with a duffel bag of clothing, Leonie and Hilda were in the living room, even though he planned to go when his roommates had class (his schedule always had different free times as his roommates).

“Well, look who decided to join us,” Leonie doesn’t give him a glance. 

“And where have you been, young man?” Hilda stands with hands on her hips, a stern look on her face before relaxing and nudging Leonie, “I told you he’d be back by now,” she held her hand out and the orange-haired female rolled her eyes and slapping money into Hilda’s hand, “Totally worth skipping.”

Claude would’ve been surprised if it wasn’t for the fact that it was Hilda who was betting. She didn’t gamble unless it was about friends (she was incredibly perceptive), and Claude can’t say he’s entirely innocent to not getting roped into her bets. He was, however, surprised that Leonie agreed to it, and even skipped class, “Hilda’s a bad influence on you, you know.”

“People say that about you too,” Leonie remarks, “But that’s besides the point, where have you been? We’ve been worried sick! At least text one of us next time.”

“Geez, Leonie,” Claude starts, “I expected that from Lorenz, not you— ah, he told you to chastise me, didn’t he?” 

Leonie hums, “To quote him,” she clears her throat, dropping her voice slightly lower, speaking in a more refined manner, “Tell that Claude that he should start thinking about others and how they might worry about him, it’s so unbefitting for someone like him!” She take a slight bow as Hilda claps for her performance, wiping a fake tear away, “Anyways, you’ve been at Byleth’s place, haven’t you?”

Claude holds his hands up, “You caught me, officer,” he teases, glad to see that Leonie was fine after the night before, “How’re you holding up?” He wants to ask more, about what happened, how she knew Byleth, but there was a line he had made for himself (that he wouldn’t cross with Leonie or Byleth) that he wouldn’t pry too much, at least not so early on. 

Leonie’s smile drops, and she sighs, “Captain Jeralt…” _Oh_ , so Jeralt was the captain she talked about so often (she didn’t drop his name often), “Last night he was involved in a hit and run and…” Claude could see her tense up and Hilda put a hand on her arm, Leonie tried to relax again, “The bastard hasn’t been found yet.”

“Hey,” Claude steps closer to his friends, putting his hand on her other arm, “I’m sure they’ll find who did it. And if not, with my brains and your brawl, we can catch them ourselves!” He tries to keep it lighthearted, but part of his words are serious. If it was on campus, he was sure that campus police would do what they can because it’s Jeralt, most of them had probably talked to him before. Otherwise, Claude wasn’t so sure if anyone outside of campus police would do much (but then again, all his experiences of the area were just from his time in college).

Leonie hits Claude, giving him a small laugh as he rubs the spot she hit, “And get arrested for an unauthorized use of poison?” There’s a second of silence, “Thank you, Claude, really.”

“You know it’s okay to cry, Leonie,” he tells her. She was strong physically, but he knew that she wasn’t as strong as she said she was emotionally. She wasn’t the type to cry to others, but he had heard her crying before, and it took everything in him to not comfort her (he was sure she’d crush him if he did). 

“I…” Leonie starts, straightening herself, “I know, but I have to be strong. For Jeralt, for By,” Claude wants to say something, maybe inspirational, but deep from his heart. Because she didn’t have to be strong for others, he understood the need to cry now and then, “I told Jeralt I would take care of her in case anything happened to him… It was a passing conversation, but I didn’t think he’d be gone so soon…”

“It’s hard to be prepared for stuff like that,” Hilda reasoned with Leonie, “If I lost Holst one day…” She shakes her head, “I wouldn’t know how to react. He’s clingy, but I still love him,” she grabs Leonie’s hand, giving it a squeeze, “so it’s alright to lean on us. You may need to be strong for them, but around us, you can cry, always! I bet even Lorenz will let you cry on him, even if he’s wearing one of those designer shirts.”

If Claude didn’t know Lorenz, he might’ve taken that bet. But under all the snobbish rich kid that is Lorenz, he was actually a soft-hearted guy who cares a lot for his friends (he and Claude have had many heart-to-hearts before), “Don’t take the bet,” he tells Leonie, much to Hilda’s displeasure, “I know he cares about anything designer, but he’d definitely care more about you.”

“Thank you guys, really. I’ll take you up on those offers. And I know about Lorenz, last night… he was there for me,” she laughs awkwardly, “He actually said the same thing to me, about leaning on him for this. It’ll be a little weird at first, but I suppose it doesn’t hurt to lean on you guys sometimes,” she opens up her arms and the three of them share a hug together.

Then Claude felt his phone buzz in his pocket, prompting him to remember why he was really there in the first place, “Shit—” He pulls away from the hug, checking his phone. He ignored the message he received (one from Dimitri), and checked the time instead, “I have to go, I’ll be staying at Byleth’s for the week!” He waves to the pair, and bolts out the door.

* * *

“I suppose this is your last day here, huh?” Byleth sits in her kitchen, watching Claude cook breakfast for both of them. He had gotten used to living with her, waking up and cooking for them (she wasn’t exactly the best chef and he was happy to cook if she was going to eat). She had taken the week off, while Claude would go in and out for classes. They had fallen into a rhythm and he didn’t really want to let it go.

“Are you disappointed, friend?” He teases Byleth all the same, not showing her how he really feels about the whole thing. Of course he was the one who accepted her offer, but the week with her was enjoyable for him. She was easy to live with, and by the middle of the week, they had started to share her bed. Waking up each morning with his face buried in her hair was something he was sure he’d love to do for the rest of his life (if he could).

Bringing the cup of tea she had brewed for herself (she made one for Claude as well) to her lips, she lets silence fall between the two of them. Only the sizzle of the pan was heard, and once he plated the food, there was full silence. It was comfortable, though. If it was a few months ago, Claude would’ve been itching to say something, bring any sort of topic up because at the time, Byleth was still just his teaching assistant.

“A little,” Byleth whispered after taking a few bites of his food. He looks at her confused, but doesn’t press her on it, and she doesn’t bring it up again. They finish their meal in silence, “Do you have classes today too?” It was the end of the week, so she knew most students tried not to have classes on Fridays (if she was a student, she probably would’ve done that too).

“Not today,” he tells her, a smile spreading on his lips, “Do you want to do anything? Or just have a lazy day?”

Byleth hums, downing the rest of her tea, “Lazy, we can go out together tomorrow,” she wasn’t someone who normally made plans unless someone else planned it. In his experience (and Edelgard’s), Byleth normally just asked what the plans were and arrived at the place at the planned time, “We can do a picnic or something?”

Claude raises an eyebrow, skeptical at her behavior, “What’s wrong, Byleth?” He had known her enough to know her quirks, and he was attentive enough to know when something was wrong, especially since they had just spent the past few days living together. And he realized with her that being blunt was the best way to get an answer from her. Blunt questions, blunt answers.

But she doesn’t answer, instead she gets up and grabs his wrist, leading him to her room, “We said lazy day, right?” She asks the question without expecting an answer, “My dad told me that him and my mom used to spend lazy days in bed together,” she avoids eye contact with Claude, “And I... thought we could do that.”

“Shouldn’t you do that with someone you like?” His tone was teasing like usual, but the question felt heavy (on Byleth and on Claude).

And she ignored it, gesturing for him to join her in her bed. And he stood there for a second before joining her, wrapping his arms around her like he did at night. He held her like she was made of glass, resting his chin on her shoulder. Closing his eyes, he swallowed the words that he wanted to ask because of the uncertainty of the answer. Even if it seemed like the answer was blaring in his face, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of doubt he felt. Because did she _really_ like him?

Or was he just at the right place at the right time (like he had thought the whole time)?

“Do you like me?” Byleth’s voice breaks the silence and Claude stiffens. How should he answer? What kind of “like” does she mean? Claude’s mind runs wild until Byleth reaches to touch his face. He didn’t notice her change her position in his arms, and now they’re closer than ever physically. His gaze fell onto her lips for a second before averting his eyes, how easy it would be to just lean in to kiss her.

“Uh,” he clears his throat, composing himself, “Of course I like you, my friend,” she doesn’t move her hand from his face, looking at him intently, “Is there something on my face?” He laughs awkwardly, growing nervous.

“Claude,” he tenses up, “You know that’s not what I was asking,” he can’t help but notice there’s a playful glint in her eyes, almost like she knew what she was doing to him (did she know about his crush?). She pulls his face closer to hers and he can feel her breath. Never in his life had he felt so _vulnerable_. His eyes flicker down to her lips and how tempting they were. With one move—

And her lips are on his. It’s soft, quick, leaving both of them wanting more. And before either of them can move in for another, Claude backs away as much as he could in her bed, “Wait,” _this isn’t right_ , “You— We can’t—” He can’t seem to find the right words to say. It’s not like he’s going to _deny_ her, he’d be a fool if he did that. But he also can’t help the guilt that’s eating him up, because she had just lost Jeralt. Because this could all be just a surge of emotions from that sadness, that loss. 

And he was being selfish so he didn’t get hurt.

“Byleth,” he sighs, hitting himself over the head in his mind. He couldn’t believe he was about to turn down the one woman who could give him a run for his money, the only one who could turn his fake confidence into his real doubt. The one woman who he wouldn’t mind spending his life with, “You… Don’t really want this. You’re probably just—”

“Claude,” Byleth’s lips are curved downwards, “don’t act like you know how I feel,” _harsh_. But she was right, he didn’t know how she felt. About a lot of things. She sighed as she pushed herself up from the bed, “I _know_ what you’re thinking, and I’m not some being who can’t feel. I’m just good at masking my emotions,” she looked over her shoulder at Claude, still lying in the bed, “And I lied to you.”

“What—”

“My dad is better,” her eyes move away from him, “A few days ago the hospital called and—by some miracle—he’s doing better. And I was going to tell you to go home but Leonie…” Leonie? “She said her roommate told her to tell me to let you stay here,” Claude shot up at this, one certain pink-haired girl pinned as the culprit in his mind, “And I thought it couldn’t hurt. I enjoyed your company and…” her voice quiets down, “I like you.”

If Claude could rewind time, he would so he could hear those words come from her again. It felt like all the doubt had been lifted from his shoulders, and his initial annoyance at Hilda for meddling was turned into gratitude, “Why didn’t you tell me?” Byleth cringes and he regrets asking. How would she know better not to get involved in Hilda’s schemes? “Scratch that… I…” One of his hands reaches for hers, “I like you too. A lot. You’re like the sun that brightens my day—”

Byleth laughs, cutting him off. _What a laugh_. She looks happy and his heart beats a mile a minute, “I didn’t know you were so _cheesy_ , Claude,” He can’t help the goofy grin that spreads across his face as he wraps his arms around her, pulling her down with a yelp.

“But you like it,” he says, burying his face into her hair. If this was a dream, he hoped he never woke up from it, “And I like _you_.”

Her gaze softens, “I like you too,” she presses her forehead against his, “I like you a lot.”

**Author's Note:**

> it's not my best work i've done but i wanted to explore a bit more with unsure/insecure claude with his feelings. also i'm thinking ab writing more for the hilda/leonie/claude/lorenz roommate bunch or for other sets of roommates (i already have a few in mind). but either way expect some similar au fics eventually!
> 
> i hope you all enjoyed it!!


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